water and fire
by Twilgain
Summary: A daughter of Poseidon and a son of Hephaestus... Water and fire... Can their budding love survive?
1. Chapter 1

1

It had been three years since I'd started spending my summers at Camp Half-Blood. Being a daughter of the one of the big three wasn't easy. I was alone in my cabin for one, and for another, I was always the odd one out. Just because I spent my vacation with demigods didn't mean I escaped the ridicule of others. Au Contraire… Some of the kids purposely seeked me out in order to point out our differences.

With my green eyes like stones the river had washed smooth, fair freckled skin, and bleach blond hair that I let the sun dry, I looked nothing like one would expect from a daughter of Poseidon.

I closed my eyes, letting myself float on top on the water with the sun shining brightly down on me, warming my exposed arms and legs. I couldn't help but smile, relishing the heat of the day.

"Katharyn! It's time for training!" Someone shouted from the shore.

"Leave fish-girl and come on, we don't have time to stick around!" Someone added quietly.

They didn't know I had such great hearing. I heard a lot of things that I wasn't meant to. Sound travels over water after all, and while not always found in a body, water is present almost everywhere. Hearing over great distances was part of the power I'd gained from my godly parent.

I'd never met my father. I had never held that against him, I knew just as well as anyone that the gods weren't meant to visit their children often. However, I did want to meet him someday. My mother and I had a very strained relationship, and I had a feeling that, were I to meet Poseidon, I would totally transform into a daddy's girl.

Ignoring the two kids on the shore as they walked away, their weapons clanking heavily against their armor, I ducked beneath the water, allowing myself to sink to the bottom of the lake slowly. Here, in the water, I could truly be at peace.

It must have been at least several hours before I woke up. The clouds above the lake were dark with rain, and a chill breeze sent ripples across the surface. The water around me was dark as dusk settled on the horizon. I must have missed both training and dinner. I could only hope that Dionysus hadn't noticed my absence, or I would be in for a lecture.

Manipulating the water around me, I propelled myself to the shore and shook the water from my body. A moment later, I was as dry as I had been that morning before my swim. Walking through the forest at night was as creepy as ever, and I somehow ended up at the pavilion instead of my cabin. Cursing under my breath, I tried to figure out how I'd gotten turned around.

"Hello? Is there anybody here? Please! I need help!" A male voice called from the woods to my right.

I turned quickly, my eyes searching the shadows for any sign of life. I was about to chalk it up to me just being afraid of the dark, when the bushes shook noisily and a boy came crashing to the ground, landing on his face clumsily.

Rushing to this stranger's side, I leaned down and grabbed his arms, pulling him into a sitting position. "Are you all right?" I asked.

His gold-flecked brown eyes searched my face and he shook his head. "I'm fine, but someone needs to help my family!"

"Your family?" I answered, my eyes narrowed in confusion.

"My mother and brother! They brought me here, and we got chased by some demon or something! And then they pushed me through this gate and told me to run for help! The-they are still out there with tha-that thing!"

Understanding dawned on me then. This kid was a demigod who didn't know about his powers. It was hard to believe that I had been this lost and confused only three years ago.

Chiron and Dionysus came then, bringing a crowd of demigods with them. Seeing everyone with their weapons and pajamas clashing was a humorous sight, but now was not the time for jokes. I explained everything to the camp leaders and they instructed me to stay with the newcomer while they rushed to the muggles' rescue. Why they wouldn't want someone with my power to help in a time like this was a point of confusion to me. To be honest, I didn't know the extent of my power since I'd never been in a real battle.

Since the war against Gaia led by the seven demigods of prophecy ten years ago, things in the Greek and Roman worlds had calmed down temporarily, giving everyone a chance to breath and train in peace. It was boring if you asked me. I could hear the sounds of the fight in the distance and wished yet again that I could be fighting alongside them.

The boy sat and caught his breath, and I had a chance to glance him over. His hair was black and slightly curled, a little long like he'd just missed his haircut, and he looked to be my age. Seventeen or eighteen to be sure. He was lank, but tall, with a sort of wiry strength present within him. I couldn't help but wonder what he'd look like once he got all cleaned up.

He looked up then and caught me staring, and I blushed furiously as I looked away. I knew he could see my face flush; my skin was so pale that it would be hard to miss.

Chiron galloped back to the two of us, with the rest of the camp a few minutes behind him. I stood and faced him, ready for a report. He looked to the boy first.

"Your family is safe. They are on their way home now. It was only a Minotaur, and with our forces, we easily scared it off." I saw the boy's face cloud in confusion at this, but Chiron continued, now looking at me. "We spoke to his mother. He is a son of Hephaestus. He will be staying with us from now on, and as you were the one to find him, I hope you will show him around tomorrow."

I nodded slowly, processing this new information. Chiron turned to greet the others then and I looked at this new burden of mine. He waved shyly.

"Well, I have no idea what is going on here… But hi. I'm Aaron."

Ahh… The injustice of it all.


	2. Chapter 2

2

Sunlight streamed through the light blue curtains that waved lazily with the wind. It took me a minute to remember the previous night's events, and then I stifled a groan, covering my eyes with one arm. Chiron had instructed me to show Aaron around camp today. Why me?

When I'd taken Aaron back to his cabin the night before, it had become very clear that he knew nothing of his lineage. I tried to explain it as best I could in as few words as possible, but from the expressions on his face, it hadn't sunk in quite yet.

I wondered briefly if I had enough time for a swim before meeting him. But looking at how high the sun was in the sky, I realized I'd used up too much time sleeping in already.

That was one of my biggest problems here, I reflected as I pulled on my jeans and a cute navy sweater my mother had sent me in an attempt to patch up last week's fight. Because of how NOT interested I was in hanging out with the other demigods, I couldn't be bothered to make it to classes on time, wake up on time, do ANYTHING on time. Nobody was going to make a big deal out of it though, with my being one of the big three's kid, and also with the camp being all "kid-friendly" and whatnot.

Maybe I was hoping that Chiron or Dionysus would pay attention long enough to discipline me. At least then I'd feel I had a purpose, a reason to try harder. Perhaps training Aaron would give me that purpose, I thought optimistically.

Pushing my hair up into a quick ponytail, I ran out the door, heading to Aaron's cabin. Now, compared to me, Aaron had plenty of cabin mates. I thought of them as a herd of rabbits, constantly multiplying. This thought brought a smirk to my face.

Knocking on the door, I tried for a polite smile when Kevin opened the door. Kevin had always been nice to me, although I knew it was only because Kevin strove to be nice to everyone. Given the chance, he'd rather hang out with any of the other demigods nearby, this I knew to be a fact. But still, I had to give him credit, he grinned and gave me a sudden hug.

"Here for the new kid? I'll get him for you." With that, he shut the door and I heard him yell, "Hey fresh meat! Your chaperone is here!"

I rolled my eyes and sat on the steps of the cabin, waiting for my "charge." Chiron had said that Aaron was my duty because I'd found him first, but I wondered for a moment if perhaps he was trying to get me out of my shell, just as deep down, I really wanted him to.

The door opened and Aaron stepped out. I think my mouth must have dropped open, which was probably not attractive, but suddenly I was very concerned with my appearance. Gone was the dirt smudged face from the night before; Aaron had cleaned up very nicely. He wore black jeans and a t-shirt with some band's logo on the front, and while his hair still held that slight curl, it hung more about his face, making it so I could focus only on his eyes. Flecks of gold and red held my attention there, and I spent the next minute wondering if he got the coloring naturally, or if it were a part of his godly heritage.

Aaron coughed and grinned at me, head tilted down to meet my eye. "Morning."

I flushed and nodded. "Morning!" Standing up quickly, I brushed off my pants, giving me the excuse to turn my face away. "I thought we'd start off with me showing you around the camp, and then maybe we could grab some breakfast and start training. Sound okay?" He nodded, and shoving his hands in his pockets, walked over to join me.

We spent the next hour walking around, with me showing him everything I could think of. The training grounds, cabins, pavilions, ranges… Everything was fair game. And then we reached the lake.

I must have sighed in relief or something, because Aaron looked over at me and laughed then. "You come here a lot?"

I nodded. "Just as you are the son of Hephaestus, I am the daughter of Poseidon."

He scrunched his eyebrows together in thought and then snapped his fingers as the answer came to him. "The water god dude right?"

I smirked, "Yeah, something like that. Anyways, I like to come out here to think, relax, have fun…" I trailed off.

He smiled empathetically. "I know how you mean. I always end up crafting something when I'm upset. Made my first model airplane like that. I was 2." He laughed and blushed, running his hand through his hair. "I guess, looking back, that was a little strange huh? I don't know, this whole demigod thing is so new and weird. Feels like a dream."

I nodded. "I felt the same when I came here three years ago. You get used to it."

He smiled at me. "Well, if you say so, it must be true."

I blushed. "Come on then, on to breakfast." And in that moment, I knew this was good. I'd needed someone like Aaron to talk to for a long time. And here was my chance.


End file.
